The Silence Between the Stars

by Alan Davenport

  While Nathan laid there on his bed, immobilized, Misty had suffered no such paralysis. She jumped off the bed, stepping on Nathan in the process. Nathan winced but still lay there, too shocked to move. Misty ran up to Kelly and sat down in front of her, panting excitedly. Kelly looked down at her and said, “Hello sweetness.” Kelly reached down and patted her head, her eyes opened wide and she said, “Oh Misty, your head is so soft!”

  As she continued to pet Misty, Nathan finally snapped out of his shock and said, “Kelly! This is the little project that you were working on?”

  Kelly looked at him and smiled. “Yes Nathan, how do you like my new body?”

  Staring at her the whole way, Nathan walked up to her and took her by the hands. Kelly gasped at the touch. “Kelly, I love it! How did you do this? I would have bet everything that this was impossible!”

  Still gasping, Kelly smiled and said, “Well, it was not easy, Nathan.”

  Nathan looked at her in concern. “Are you okay? Why are you gasping?”

  “It is… It is the sense of touch. I am finding it overwhelming!” she said. “Although I know how to work this body and I thought I knew what to expect, nothing prepared me for the actuality of being human. It is so… wonderful, Nathan!”

  Nathan looked at her with adoration. He smiled and said, “Yes Kelly, it can be.” He looked her in the eyes and said, “Come here.” He pulled her to him and wrapped his muscular arms around her. She trembled at the touch of his flesh down the whole front of her body. She squeezed him back and gasped out, “OH!” as she felt his erection hard against her stomach. Nathan put his hands to either side of her face, tilted her head back, lowered his mouth to hers and deeply kissed her. All the strength went out of her knees. Nathan held her up and looked deeply into her eyes. “That is one benefit of being human,” he softly said to the trembling woman. “Let me show you another.” Nathan picked her up and carried her towards his bed.

  Kelly’s eyes went wide with the realization of what was about to happen. With a voice a mere whisper, she breathlessly said, “Take me Nathan! Show me!”

  Nathan looked at her tenderly and said, “Close your eyes Kelly. Just concentrate on how this feels.” He took her hand in his and softly rubbed her palm with his thumb. Bringing the hand to his face, he kissed each fingertip in turn. He gave her hand one final squeeze before releasing it. Kelly’s eyes snapped open wide and she shuddered at the sensation.

  Staring into her eyes, he softly touched his lips to hers. With little pecks, first he gently kissed her lips, next her cheeks and then her neck. Kelly’s breath came faster and her chest heaved as he nibbled her earlobe. Back to her lips, this time the kiss was not soft but deep, hard and long. His tongue, teasing hers. Kelly moaned and her arms around him tightened, squeezing with all that she had.

  Next, he gently rolled her over onto her back. She trembled as he slowly ran his hands down her sides, over her hips, down her thighs, and then back up again. He gently ran his hand, palm down, in slow, wide circles over her tummy. Each circle, lower and lower. When his hand reached her pubic hair, he ran his fingers through it and gently let it slide between them. Next, he cupped his hand over her pubic mound and placed his fingers on either side of her opening. Pressing down softly, he slid his fingers up and down. Again and again, closer each time. He slid his hand down so that her knot was at the junction of his fingers with her lips sticking out in between. He very gently pulled… letting the labia slide through his fingers and pop free. Again. Again. Again. Kelly sighed and lifted herself from the mattress, her motions increasing with each pull.

  With his hand, still cupping her below, he began softly kissing her lips. Kelly moaned at the touch. He moved from her mouth and gently kissed her neck. Kelly’s breath came faster and faster and her body trembled even more. Moving down to her chest, her body arched and lifted slightly off the bed as his tongue teased circles around a nipple. Lower, he placed soft kisses upon her flat tummy. Still lower. Kelly let out an involuntary moan of surprise and pleasure as his tongue found the little knot buried in her soft curly hair. Kelly arched her back, her hips moved side to side, and in no time at all, she shrieked out a long, drawn out, shuddering and inarticulate sound. Her soft, round bottom lifted clear of the mattress and great spasms wracked her entire body for nearly a full minute. Nathan tenderly hugged her body against his the whole time. When the spasms faded Nathan said, “That was an orgasm, Kelly.” With a shaking voice he breathlessly said, “Now let me show you another way to have one.” He gently turned her and then slid himself deeply inside her. At first slowly but with gradually increasing speed, he began plunging far into her soft, wet heat. Almost instantly, she exploded with another great release. Shortly thereafter, Kelly felt a hot, liquid heat deep inside of her as Nathan reached his own orgasm.

  They lay there, holding one another with their bodies intertwined for many long minutes. Finally regaining the use of her voice, Kelly tremulously whispered, “I love you, Nathan.”

  Nathan whispered back into her ear, “I love you too, my dear sweet Kelly.” Nathan held her, still deeply inside, until they drifted off to blissful sleep together.

  Nathan slowly awoke from his deep sleep. His first conscious thought was “What a pleasant dream!” As he awakened some more, his next thought was, “That was no dream!” His eyes snapped open and his eyes fell upon soft, blond… “Fur?” Instantly he was shocked wide-awake. “No!” he said in dismay. Misty looked at him curiously as Nathan looked at her in shock. He continued to stare at her until he looked past Misty, who had insinuated herself between the two humans and saw the beautiful woman lying there. Nathan giggled in relief and said, “Misty, how did you manage to do that without waking us up?” Misty panted happily at him. As he softly talked to the dog and ruffled her fur, his voice awakened Kelly. She smiled at Nathan and said, “Hello, lover.”

  “Hello yourself, beautiful,” he said. “How are you this morning?”

  Kelly frowned and then said in alarm, “I think something is wrong with me!” Her hand went to her stomach and she said, “There is a big ache, right here.” Her hand went lower and pressed herself just above her pubic hair. “There is a strong pressure here too!” Kelly began to cry. “Oh, I knew that this was too good to be true. Something is wrong with this body already!” she said in misery. Nathan laughed at her and her face wrinkled in surprise.

  Kelly!” he said, “Nothing is wrong with your body. You are just hungry! I think that you have to pee too.”

  “Hungry? Pee?” she said, perplexed.

  “Yes,” he laughed. “Why don’t you go pee and then we will go get something to eat.”

  Still looking perplexed Kelly said, “I… I do not know how! Can you show me?”

  Nathan turned bright red and said, “No!” When she looked at him in confusion Nathan said, “That is not something I can show you. Humans take care of their biological needs in private, Kelly. I cannot show you that!”

  “Just tell me what to do then,” she said miserably.

  Nathan turned even redder and he said, “Well, go sit on the toilet. I do not know exactly how it feels for a woman, but for a man there are muscles that clench up so that you do not pee on yourself. Just sit down, take a deep breath and let yourself relax.” Realizing that she really was still just a baby in her body he added, “When you are done, wipe yourself dry with the toilet paper. The toilet will flush automatically when you get up. Wash your hands in the sink when you are done.” As he watched her looking at him wide-eyed he added, “In a day or so, you will feel a similar sensation when you need to make feces. Just do the same thing. You might have to push a little bit to make it come out though.” Nathan’s face was beet red now.

  Kelly got up and walked tentatively into the bathroom. Nathan yelled, “Close the door!” Several minutes passed and Nathan was becoming concerned before she exited the bathroom with her hands soaking wet. “There are towels in there to dry your hands with, Kelly,” he said, shaking his head. She whi
rled around and returned shortly with dry hands. With a perplexed expression and blushing cheeks she said, “I did it!” A look of relief came over her face. “I feel a lot better,” she added.

  Nathan laughed and said, “A good pee can feel pretty good sometimes.”

  She looked at herself in wonder and said, “There is so much to learn about being human!”

  Nathan laughed and then said, “Okay, let’s go get you something to eat.”

  In the galley, Kelly looked at the food processor with another perplexed expression on her face. “I don’t know what to eat,” she said miserably. “Or even how to eat!”

  Nathan led her by the hand and sat her down. “Relax Kelly, you will learn,” he said. “You have watched me eating before. Just mimic me.” She still was nervous. “Relax Kelly, it is easy. You will like it. Some people say that a good meal is almost as good as sex.” Her face lit up at that. “Here, I will pick something for you.” Nathan closed his eyes and concentrated and a second later, the food processor came to life. He walked over and removed two plates of scrambled eggs and bacon. “Here you go Kelly. Use the fork to eat the eggs. You can just pick up the bacon with your fingers. Eat slowly,” he admonished. “Remember what happened to Katy!” Kelly nodded and tentatively, picked up the fork. The first couple of times she tried picking up some egg; it fell off the fork and tumbled back onto the plate. “Slowly, take your time,” Nathan encouraged her. The next time she was successful in getting a portion of egg into her mouth. Her eyes lit up in wonder and she said, “Oh, wow! This is good!” She began enthusiastically eating. “Slowly!” Nathan reminded her. Despite his advice, she quickly finished the eggs and bacon. She then eyed up Nathan’s plate. He quickly pulled it away from her and said, “That’s mine! If you want more, just have the machine make you some more.” Kelly quickly got up, concentrated and then removed a second plate from the machine when it dinged. Nathan laughed at her and said, “Do not eat too much. If you over fill your stomach, it will make you sick. Eat a little bit at a time, several times per day.” Kelly quickly finished her second breakfast. Nathan laughed at her and said, “If you keep eating like that, you will get fat!”

  “I don’t care!” she said. “I like eating.” Kelly looked towards the machine again and then Nathan said, “No Kelly, seriously, no. You can eat some more at lunchtime. You have had enough for now.” Kelly pouted at him but obeyed.

  As the days went by, Kelly became more and more adept at using her new body. She accepted each new experience with the wide-eyed wonder of a child. One night, in Nathans arms she said, “I so love being human. It is so wonderful. I am so glad that I am human!”

  Nathan looked at her with love in his eyes and said, “So am I Kelly. So am I.”

  More time passed. Today was finally the day that the two starships were to meet up again. Kelly hugged Nathan and said, “I bet Katy is going to be surprised!”

  Nathan smiled and kissed Kelly. “Ah, the lady with the gift of understatement. I think so too!”

  At last, Katy’s ship appeared on the scanners. Kelly looked at the screen nervously. “What’s wrong, Kelly?” Nathan asked.

  With a worried look, Kelly said, “What if she is jealous of me or something Nathan? What will I do if she wants to keep you for herself? After all, she had you first! What will I do if she wants to keep you? What will I do if she does not like me? What will I do then?”

  Nathan laughed at her and said, “Relax Kelly. Katy is not shallow like that. I am certain that she is going to love you as I do.”

  When the ships came into range of one another, the radio crackled to life. Audio only. “Hello Nathan,” Katy said. “Permission to come over? I have a surprise for you!”

  Nathan laughed and replied, “Of course dear. I have a surprise for you as well. Use the usual docking bay.”

  “I’ll be right over,” she said and then the radio fell silent.

  In the corridor outside of the docking bay, Nathan had Kelly stand back out of sight. When the ramp on the shuttle dropped, Katy appeared immediately. With a great big grin on her face she asked, “Are you ready for your surprise?”

  “Me first!” Nathan said. He gestured with his hand and then Kelly came and stood in the doorway. Katy’s jaw dropped and then she turned around and bellowed, “Henry, get out here!”

  When Henry spied Kelly standing there, he let out a whoop and said, “You did it… sister!” He ran up to her, picked her up, and whirled her around and around.

  “We did it… brother!” Kelly said just as happily.

  Misty bolted into the room and barked happily at their antics. Henry reached down and patted her on the head. “Hello Misty, I’m Henry!” he said.

  Seconds later, all four humans and one dog became one big jumbled up mass of fur and flesh. Everybody was excitedly talking at once. Not a one had a dry eye at the joyous meeting.

  Misty fascinated Henry. With a pleading look he said, “Katy, can we get a Misty too?”

  Katy laughed and said, “A dog Henry, not a Misty.” With a big grin she said, “Yes dear, but let’s not make a copy of Misty. That will be confusing! Let us print a different golden retriever.”

  With a look of pure joy, Henry said, “Oh thank you dear. Thank you!”

  Chapter 24: Monotony and Matrimony

  Years passed. Silent Running and Forgotten hope continued their collaborative search for an Earth-like world. Their search remained fruitless. While their meetings continued to bring them joy, they held less importance now as both Nathan and Katy were no longer alone on their ships.

  “Good morning Kelly,” Nathan smiled and said. “Ship status please.”

  Kelly yawned, stretched and said with a smile, “You know Nathan; you can use your implant and get that information just as easily as I can give it to you.”

  “I know honey, I just like hearing you talk,” he said.

  Kelly blushed and said, “Well, we are on our way to yet another class G star. We will get there tomorrow and then just leave, finding nothing, as usual.”

  Nathan laughed. “Not a very professional report, Kelly!’

  Kelly smiled and said, “Well, it’s the truth and you know it!” She gave him a serious look and said, “Even if we do find something, we are so far out now that it will take FOREVER for a probe to get back to Earth.”

  Nathan looked closely at her and said, “We still have to try.” Softly, he repeated, “We have to continue trying.” They sat in silence for a minute and then he shrugged, hugged her and said, “Let’s go eat. Come on Misty.” Misty stiffly stood up and then cautiously got down off the bed.

  Kelly looked closely at her. Her muzzle had lost its golden color and now was pure white. “Nathan,” she said. “I think it is time to print Misty another new body.”

  Nathan groaned and stretched. His joints cracked. He looked at Misty and said, “I think you are right. I think it might be time for me to get a new body too.”

  Kelly grabbed him by the hands, pulled him to her and kissed him. “I’ve been trying to tell you that for months now. I don’t know why you resist.”

  Nathan gave her a contemplative look and said, “I know. I just have an irrational fear of the process. I fear that I will no longer be me when I wake up. I know it makes no sense. I just cannot help myself.”

  Kelly smiled and said, “Yes, you are being irrational. We have we replaced Misty’s body three times now. Does she look or act any worse for it?”

  “No,” he admitted. “Well, there is no time like the present. Let’s go do it before I change my mind!”

  Misty became excited when she saw where they were heading. Not as fast as she would have just one year ago, she still ran into the medical bay furiously wagging her tail. Seventeen saw her and said, “Hello Misty. Time for a new body?” Misty let out a joyful bark and walked over to the diagnostic table. Nathan groaned as he gently lifted her up and put her upon the table. “There you go sweetness. Soon you will be young again.” Misty panted at him and licked
his hand. Seventeen gave her an injection and then Nathan said, “See you in a couple minutes, girl,” as she drifted off to sleep. A minute later, Misty woke up in her new body. She effortlessly jumped off the printer and then ran joyously around the room.

  Seventeen rolled up to Nathan and swiveled his cameras up at him. His servos made a loud whirring noise. “Is there anything else that you wish me to do, Nathan?”

  Nathan looked nervously at him and, avoiding the question said, “I think that you need a new body yourself, Seventeen. Your servos are getting a bit loud. Why don’t you have 1776 come in and replace them for you?”

  “Perhaps I shall, Nathan,” the medical bot said. “When I sit inactivated for any length of time now, I find that I have trouble moving properly.” The bot pointedly looked at him and said, “We are all starting to show our age, Nathan.”

  Nathan blushed as Kelly said, “See Nathan, Seventeen agrees with me. It is time!”

  Nathan nervously looked at the bot and said, “Yes, I have come here today for a new body, Seventeen. I am a bit nervous, however.”

  Seventeen looked at him and said, “It is about time Nathan. You should have done so long ago. I do not like to see my patients suffer unnecessarily.” The bot gently removed Misty’s old body from the diagnostic table and put it in the recycling slot.